In a tense atmosphere, Azriel calmed Solvane with a few words.
"He may be up against the princess, but look on the bright side: he's last on the list, which gives him a few hours before it becomes a disadvantage. For now, you've got your own battle to fight; don't dwell on it too much," said Azriel, but despite her reassuring tone, her fists were clenched in frustration.
"Yes, you're righ." she said, a gleam in her eyes.
Then she approached the arena, fists clenched; Azriel noticed the tremors, imperceptible to anyone not really looking at her.
Azriel said just two words, but they changed everything: "Good luck."
She turned around. "Thank you." she said, relaxing her hands, and this time she swept her determined gaze across the crowd of students.
She entered the tunnel leading to the arena.
The passage was dark, lit only by the light at the exit.
She raised her arm to shield herself from the blinding light; when she lowered her hand, she discovered the immensity and beauty of the place.
'This arena looks just like the colosseums Elisabeth took us to last week. Did she do that on purpose?'
On the other side of the arena stood a woman with her arms crossed
Eliane Vance
Solvane recognized her immediately, not by her face, but by her demeanor, which seemed to say: 'I am here because I deserve to be.' She was the only daughter of a low-ranking nobleman.
She wore the second-year uniform; her bearing reflected that of an over-trained soldier, and she also wore a bracelet on her left hand, strangely positioned at the front.
To lighten the mood, Solvane began to speak: "Hello, I'm Solvane. Tell me, what's that bracelet for? It's clearly not here for aesthetic reasons."
"What, did you think we were going to face you and have a power advantage? It seems you're misinformed. That must be Princess Alice's doing." She shook her head, then continued: "It doesn't matter anyway; just know that these bracelets are here to seal our true power and put us on the same level as you."
She let a few seconds pass, the atmosphere tense.
Most of us are here for our talents, not for our surname.
A few sniggers could be heard from the stands.
"I'll show you that I, too, am standing here today because of my skills and not because of my surname," she said, her eyes burning with determination.
"Well then, Miss Celestain, I'll let you go first." said Eliane stoically, but in a sarcastic tone
"When you're ready." replied Solvane simply.
Eliane was smiling, but it wasn't a truly warm smile; it was the smile of someone who already thought she had won without even fighting.
Solvane did not attack without thinking, and since Eliane had been 'kind' enough to let her go first, she studied Eliane's stance, the flicker of her eyelids, the tension in her muscles, how her hair was swept by the wind.
Solvane began to move, but not as people expected: it wasn't a charge; she was simply walking towards her opponent, nothing more, nothing less. When she was less than five meters away, she began to create a dozen swords that flew towards Eliane. Of course, it wasn't really meant for Eliane, but just to trap her. The swords then struck the ground around them.
Eliane didn't panic and stayed where she was, arms crossed.
Solvane, for her part, launched a fresh volley of swords, directly at her this time.
"Well done, but I'm afraid that won't be enough," said Eliane with a smirk
She leaped onto one of the surrounding swords and created aura daggers.
Clang, clang, clang!
These daggers deflected each sword's trajectory, and they plunged into the ground around her
'I can't go on like this; I need to take the initiative,' thought Solvane, biting her lip.
'What advice would my sister give me?'
'You think too much; don't burden yourself with unnecessary things, get straight to the point.'
"My brother would surely say." she stammered.
'You're still too naive, my sister; pain and failure are both fundamental to all learning, but if one day you find yourself in a fight where your opponent is more experienced than you and you have no choice but to win, then close your eyes, clear your mind, take a deep breath, and now picture your opponent standing before you and imagine defeating them, I know it sounds daft, but it'll help you regain your confidence.'
With renewed determination, she unleashed a flurry of blades at her opponent; this time, she didn't wait to see what her opponent would do, she went straight for it and grabbed swords straight from the ground to attack her. Whilst Elianne parried the attacks, Solvane crept dangerously close from behind and tried to aim for her shoulder to disarm her. For a second, she caught Elianne off guard, but Elianne leaped, performed an acrobatic maneuver, and grabbed another sword that Solvane had dematerialized; she lost her balance and had no choice but to fight on the ground.
'I have to admit, this woman has energy to spare, so let's see if you've got this far just because of your name or because of your skills – it's my turn to strike.' thought Elianne, her face set in a serious expression.
She grabbed her blades and lunged at Solvane. Solvane was disarmed every time, but she picked up a sword from the ground each time to keep fighting back.
Solvane kept looking for openings to attack, but she couldn't find any.
Solvane tried to conjure a blade in her hand, but failed. She tried two or three times and failed. She was running out of mana.
So she raised her fists with unparalleled determination.
Élianne, tired of the fight, threw down her blades. Solvane, taken by surprise, tried to attack instead of fleeing , but Élianne easily broke through her defenses and stopped her fist just in front of her throat.
Solvane raised her arms in surrender, biting her lip and saying, "I've lost."
"I've won, but I must admit you're impressive, Solvane. I hope you'll succeed in all these trials."
In the stands, there were those who booed, those who applauded, and there was a simple young girl, Azriel, who watched the match in silence.
'Where did Solvane learn to fight like that?'